Leviticus 27

1 Yahweh also said to Moses/me,

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

2 “Tell the Israeli people [that this is what I am saying to them]: If anyone solemnly promises to dedicate another person to [work solely] for me, the person who is dedicated to me is allowed to be free from having to do that by someone paying [to the priest] a fixed amount of money. The money that is given must be calculated by comparing it with the official pieces of silver in the Sacred Tent.

Speak to the children of Israel, and you shall say to them, Whosoever shall vow a vow as the valuation of his soul for the Lord,

3 [These are the amounts that must be paid]: 50 pieces of silver for men who are between 20 and 60 years old,

the valuation of a male from twenty years old to sixty years old shall be his valuation shall be fifty didrachmas of silver by the standard of the sanctuary.

4 30 pieces of silver for adult women [who are between 20 and 60 years old],

And the valuation of a female shall be thirty didrachmas.

5 20 pieces of silver for young men who are between five and 20 years old, ten pieces of silver for young women who are between five and 20 years old,

And if it be from five years old to twenty, the valuation of a male shall be twenty didrachmas, and of a female ten didrachmas.

6 five pieces of silver for boys who are between one month and five years old, three pieces of silver for girls who are between one month and five years old,

And from a month old to five years old, the valuation of a male shall be five didrachmas, and of a female, three didrachmas of silver.

7 15 pieces of silver for men who are more than 60 years old, ten pieces of silver for women who are more than 60 years old.

And if from sixty year [old] and upward, if it be a male, his valuation shall be fifteen didrachmas of silver, and if a female, ten didrachmas.

8 ‘If anyone who has made such a solemn promise is very poor and unable to pay, to free that person from doing what he had promised, he must take that person to the priest. The priest will set the price [for freeing him] to be what the person who made that solemn promise is able to pay.

And if the man be too poor for the valuation, he shall stand before the priest; and the priest shall value him: according to what the man who has vowed can afford, the priest shall value him.

9 ‘If someone solemnly promises to give an animal that is acceptable to be an offering to me, that animal becomes sacred [and belongs to me].

And if it be from the cattle that are offered as a gift to the Lord, whoever shall offer one of these to the Lord, it shall be holy.

10 The person who promised to give it must not give another animal instead of the one that he promised; he must not substitute a bad animal for a good one or even a better one than the one offered. If he would substitute one animal for the other, both animals would belong to me.

He shall not change it, a good for a bad, or a bad for a good; and if he do at all change it, a beast for a beast, it and the substitute shall be holy.

11 If the animal that he wishes to dedicate to me is a kind that is unacceptable to be an offering to me, he must take that animal to the priest.

And if it be any unclean beast, of which none are offered as a gift to the Lord, he shall set the beast before the priest.

12 The priest will then decide what its value is, according to the animal’s good and bad points. Whatever value the priests sets will be the value of the animal, [and that is the price that the priest must pay for the animal].

And the priest shall make a valuation between the good and the bad, and accordingly as the priest shall value it, so shall it stand.

13 If the man who gave the animal later decides that he wants to buy it back, he must pay [to the priest] that price plus an additional 20 percent.

And if [the worshipper] will at all redeem it, he shall add the fifth part to its value.

14 ‘[Similarly], if someone dedicates his house to be a sacred gift to belong to me, the priest will decide how much it is worth, which will depend on whether the house is in good condition. Whatever the priest says that it is worth, that will be its value [and that is the price that the priest must pay for it].

And whatever man shall consecrate his house as holy to the Lord, the priest shall make a valuation of it between the good and the bad: as the priest shall value it, so shall it stand.

15 If the man who dedicated his house to me later wants to buy it back, he must pay that price plus an additional 20 percent, and then the house will belong to him again.

And if he that has sanctified it should redeem his house, he shall add to it the fifth part of the money of the valuation, and it shall be his.

16 ‘If someone dedicates to me some of the property that belongs to him and his family, its value will be determined by the number of bushels of seed that will be needed to plant seeds on that land: Its value will be ten pieces of silver for each bushel of seed.

And if a man should hallow to the Lord a part of the field of his possession, then the valuation shall be according to its seed, fifty didrachmas of silver for a homer of barley.

17 If he dedicates the land during the Year of Celebration, its full value will be that amount.

And if he should sanctify his field from the year of release, it shall stand according to his valuation.

18 But if he dedicates the field after the Year of Celebration, the priest will count the number of years until the next Year of Celebration, and if there are not many years that remain, the price will be much lower [than the full price].

And if he should sanctify his field in the latter time after the release, the priest shall reckon to him the money for the remaining years, until the [next] year of release, and it shall be deducted as an equivalent from his full valuation.

19 If the person who dedicated the field later wants to buy it back, he must pay [to the priest] the price that the priest says it is worth, plus an added one-fifth, and then the field will belong to that man again.

And if he that sanctified the field would redeem it, he shall add to its value the fifth part of the money, and it shall be his.

20 However, if he does not buy it back, or if it has been sold (OR, the priest has sold it) to someone else, that person will never be permitted to buy it back again.

And if he do not redeem the field, but should sell the field to another man, he shall not after redeem it.

21 In the Year of Celebration, it will become sacred again, and it will be given to the priest.

But the field shall be holy to the Lord after the release, as separated land; the priest shall have possession of it.

22 ‘If someone dedicates to me some land that he has bought, land which is not part of the land that his family has always owned,

And if he should consecrate to the Lord of a field which he has bought, which is not of the field of his possession,

23 the priest will count the number of years until the next Year of Celebration to determine how much it is worth, and the man must pay that amount to the priest on that day, [and then that land will belong to that man again].

the priest shall reckon to him the full valuation from the year of release, and he shall pay the valuation in that day [as] holy to the Lord.

24 But in the Year of Celebration, the land will again be owned by the person from whom he bought it, the person whose family had always owned that land.

And in the year of release the land shall be restored to the man of whom the other bought it, whose the possession of the land was.

25 All the silver that is paid must be compared with the official pieces of silver in the Sacred Tent.

And every valuation shall be by holy weights: the didrachm shall be twenty oboli.

26 ‘No one is permitted to dedicate to me the firstborn of any cow or sheep, because the firstborn already belongs to me [DOU].

And every firstborn which shall be produced among your cattle shall be the Lord's, and no man shall sanctify it: whether calf or sheep, it is the Lord's.

27 If someone gives to me a kind of animal that is not acceptable to me, that person may later buy it back by paying what it is worth plus an additional 20 percent of its value. If he does not buy it back, it must be sold (OR, the priest must sell it) for its standard price.

But if he should redeem an unclean beast, according to its valuation, then he shall add the fifth part to it, and it shall be his; and if he redeem it not, it shall be sold according to its valuation.

28 ‘However, no slave or animal or family land that someone owns can be sold or bought back after it has been dedicated to me [and no price has been paid for it]. That kind of gift belongs to me permanently/forever.

And every dedicated thing which a man shall dedicate to the Lord of all that he has, whether man or beast, or of the field of his possession, he shall not sell it, nor redeem it: every devoted thing shall be most holy to the Lord.

29 ‘No person who has [done something that I consider to be very wicked] is permitted to be freed [from being punished]; that person must surely be executed.

And whatever shall be dedicated of men, shall not be ransomed, but shall be surely put to death.

30 ‘One tenth of all the crops and grain or fruit that is produced on anyone’s land is sacred and belongs to me.

Every tithe of the land, both of the seed of the land, and of the fruit of trees, is the Lord's, holy to the Lord.

31 If anyone wants to buy back any of that tenth, he must pay [to the priest] what it is worth plus an additional 20 percent.

And if a man should at all redeem his tithe, he shall add the fifth part to it, and it shall be his.

32 One of every ten domestic animals belongs to me. When a shepherd counts his animals [MTY] [to decide which ones he will give to me], he must mark every tenth one as belonging to me.

And every tithe of oxen, and of sheep, and whatever may come in numbering under the rod, the tenth shall be holy to the Lord.

33 When he does that, he must not pick out the good ones for himself or leave the bad ones, or substitute bad ones for good ones. If he substitutes one animal for another, both animals will belong to me, and he will not be permitted to buy them back (OR, the shepherd cannot buy them back).’”

You shall not change a good for a bad, or a bad for a good; and if you should at all change it, its equivalent also shall be holy, it shall not be redeemed.

34 Those are the commands that Yahweh gave to Moses/me on Sinai Mountain [to tell to the people].

These are the commandments which the Lord commanded Moses for the sons of Israel in mount Sina.